A New Day, A New Problem
by Patron
Summary: Without Atem there to protect him, Yugi was nothing short of a lamb ready to be sheared. Ryou couldn't protect him forever. The only question now was which yami would get the information they wanted first…
1. A Walk in the Snow

I've been meaning to try my hand at a more traditional YGO fanfic for a while (that is, with all the characters present and with powers and linked minds), so I started a total bs and here's what I've farted out so far. Well, chapter one, at least.

I hit a block on my "Bakura" series _Questionable Existence_, so until I force out the rest of the chapter I'm working on, I am spending my time on this to see what happens with it. I don't really have a title in mind yet since it's total bs, so forgive me for the crappy title and description until I figure one out.

[As usual, Malik = Yami Marik in my stories.]

Let me know what you guys think and whether or not I should continue!f

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**Chapter 1:**** A Walk in the Snow**

"_Crap_!"

Malik walked out of the shop and into the crisp winter air of Domino City's streets. It was busy during the Christmas season – everyone was getting gifts and people were pairing off for the holiday break. He never really held it as a special time of year, but most people seemed to.

Yugi was whining noticeably louder than typical, hugging his tiny body with his slender little arms, frantically moving his purple eyes back and forth.

"What?" Malik's lilac eyes settled on the much smaller youth, only half-interested in what the fuss was about while shoppers moved around them, whispering about the two awkward figures standing on the curb.

Yugi was too nervous to make eye-contact with the blonde. "They _left_!" he exclaimed pathetically. "They actually left without us!"

"Hm?" Malik blinked and looked around, finally noticing that Kaiba's car was gone. _-Son of a bitch…-_ "Well," he sighed, his breath coming out in thick plumes of fog in the chilled air, "they did, didn't they? Bastards left us behind."

"I can't believe it! I mean, I understand leaving _me_!" Yugi pulled his phone from his pocket, his gloved hands still quivering from how cold it was as he searched his list of contacts. "But you! You're _huge_! How could they have _possibly_ missed _you_ not being in the car? Seriously!" He let a curse slip when his phone sang a sick tune and went black. "Of course my phone would die at a time like this!" Atem wouldn't answer anyways. The two were fighting, and it really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to Yugi that he'd so quickly been abandoned. But being left behind at the mercies of Yami Marik seemed a little extreme.

Malik tilted his head as he observed the mini-Game King suffer his mild panic attack, fixated on Yugi's reaction to the situation.

What was the big deal? Why was he freaking out? They were left behind: so what? They could catch a cab. They could probably walk back, too. Of course, it was pretty cold, and Yugi's tiny body probably wouldn't hold up well in this weather for long, so maybe walking wasn't the best route. But still.

"Freaking out much?"

The smaller youth looked up at Malik with his large, distressed eyes, bubbling over and making the yami flinch. "It's just… …They really _left_ us…"

"Oh, Ra. Please don't start crying," Malik begged stiffly as Yugi's eyes watered. "Please, _please_ don't cry. I will fucking rip off your arm if you cry."

Yugi whimpered before looking especially terrified, his expression paling under Malik's hard glaref.

Malik's eyes widened some. The baby panda was looking like he might make a run for it.

What had he said?

Yugi could be such a pussy sometimes. Still, he was fragile, and the teenager's fragility was something the yami was sensitive to.

Not many people had taken notice of Malik's fascination on the Game King's smaller half. Yugi was a strange little creature that got the yami's attention—mostly because he was so different than Atem. The pharaoh was stiff and full of himself, and could be hot-headed and over-dramatic and just freaking stupid. But Yugi was quiet and gentle and difficult for Malik to understand.

Those differences made Yugi easy for Malik to be curious about, and the yami had often observed him when no one was paying any attention. Yugi's fragility made him especially interesting to the blonde. How could anyone be _that_ fragile? That sensitive?

Yugi was his polar opposite, and that made Malik just inch closer.

In some ways it made sense: opposites tended to attract one another. But in other ways, it didn't.

Malik watching Yugi so peacefully was like a lion watching a baby gazelle without wanting to eat it.

He didn't really have a need or desire to kill Yugi like he did the teenager's yami. Atem was the root of a lot of problems for Malik, and thus it made perfect sense, at least in the blonde's mind, that the pharaoh had to die. But over time, he'd disassociated Yugi with Atem. They looked the same (well, not as much since Atem had returned from the afterlife; now he looked like he did in the past), and were part of the same original soul, but not the same person.

All of that being said, Yugi's expression of terror bothered Malik, but he wasn't very good at conversation or _not_ freaking anyone out, so he wasn't sure how to make up for…whatever he'd done…to make the tiny boy look so nervous.

"Uhh…" he blinked, watching Yugi take slow steps back in the thick snow. "Sorry?"

Yugi took another step back.

Malik snorted but did the only thing he could think to do: sat down on the curb. Lowering his massive height might make him seem less intimidating.

Yugi relaxed some, but he continued to watch the blonde with his enlarged eyes.

"_Relax_," Malik grunted. "I am not going to bite you or anything. Park your ass and we'll figure out how to get home."

Yugi slowly sat down, moving his purple eyes to stare at the street.

"We could get a cab," Yami Marik offered.

"I don't have any money on me," the other sighed, his eyes dropping.

"Sucks. Neither do I. You have a debit or something?"

Yugi shook his head, shyly looking at the large blonde through the corners of his eyes. "No. I don't usually have any need for one."

Malik growled, sending a steady stream of white air from between his teeth while considering their options. "Well, I don't have a phone anymore. I destroyed the last five of them in a series of events, so Marik won't give me a new one and I don't have a job to afford one myself. And it's too cold for my hikari to come pick us up on the bike, so I guess we're down to walking back."

"But it's so cold…"

"Yup."

Yugi shifted to hug himself, his little body quivering. "I guess we could try. KaibaCorp is what? A few miles from here?"

"No more than four or five."

"…Atem might come looking for me, so…maybe it's best to wait here?"

"You can do that." Malik stood. "But I won't sit here and wait just to get the chance to see that fool's face again unnecessarily," he snarled. Yugi looked up at him when the blonde offered one of his dark hands. "But you could just as easily come back with me. Cold or not, I can keep you warm. I'm like a fucking heater." He didn't move so Malik sighed and leaned to scoop the boy up.

"_M-Malik_!"

"Relax, you little turd. I'll carry you."

"You can leave me here! Atem will—"

"SHH," Malik hissed as he began to walk, moving through the thinning crowds of people through the streets. "I don't want to hear about him. It fucking pisses me off, got it?"

Yugi nodded quickly and buried his head into the crook of the other's neck, trying to ignore the scent of spice on Malik's shoulder.

"That's better."

In the background of the quieting city, the sky was beginning to turn a rich shade of purple that matched the color Yugi remember Malik liked to wear. Chills shot up his little back as he thought back to those days when Yami Marik ran around and tried repeatedly to rip his soul apart and sent Mai and the others to the Shadow Realm. Since his return, Malik had calmed down a considerable amount, but he was still unstable and violent at times. Could he be trusted?

Yugi didn't have much of a choice at the moment, so he just forced himself to remain as still and as quiet and as not-obnoxious as possible so as not to somehow trigger the Egyptian's insanity on the walk back.

"So," Malik breathed, turning a corner, "found a good college yet?"

Yugi's eyelids lifted. Was the yami actually trying to make conversation? They were in the quieter side of the city now, mostly consisting of the neighborhoods—Malik was taking the longer route. "Uh…. Not yet. But we're looking. You?"

Malik laughed. "_Pff_. I don't have an education to build off," he snorted. The Egyptian stopped his walking to look down at the small teenager he cradled in an oddly careful manner. "_Father_ didn't exactly teach us very much in that _dungeon_ of his."

Yugi's eyelids lowered slightly from under the weight of his peer's cold words. It was true: there really wasn't much of a chance that Marik had been well-educated in his confinement under the sands of Egypt. After all, their job was to protect the tomb, not to work. An education would have only been a threat to Marik's duties. He'd never really thought about it before, though sometimes the blondes had shown their lack of intelligence. Still, a lack of any education but the basics crippled them socially.

"Well, isn't that more of a reason to go to school?" Yugi wondered quietly, somehow able to keep their eye contact. "With an education, you could get a job."

"I can work without that crap just fine," Malik grunted. "If I needed money, that is. But I get to sponge off Bakura and my hikari, and all is well."

"Does that make you happy?"

"Huh?"

Yugi blinked and tried to give the blonde a little smile. He'd never had a real conversation with Malik before, and the chance to get to know him without the blonde trying to kill his yami was too much to pass up. Malik was insane, but Yugi wasn't certain if he was as much of a threat nowadays. So long as Atem's spell to keep him and the rest of the spirits in physical bodies was in place, Malik could exist, but if Atem died, that meant he'd be returned to Marik's mind and be sealed again.

"Mooching off of them like that," he clarified. "Does it make you happy? I'd have thought someone like you would prefer to stand on his own two feet."

Malik frowned. "Why work when I can more easily exist off of those two idiots?"

"Well… I don't know… I just mean that you don't seem like the dependant sort, is all."

Malik processed this comment before chuckling and starting to walk again, but instead of heading towards KaibaCorp, he was now going in a direction Yugi was unfamiliar with. "You're right," he agreed, ignoring the boy's quiet sounds of distress at their shift in direction. "Generally I'm not, but I guess it just boils down to me being lazy. Besides, I have little interest in working for some _fool_. I'd rather just live on the streets and take what I need, but Marik won't allow it, so he locks me up in the house where he presumes I'll behave."

"…Where are we going?"

"Back to my place."

"I thought we were going back to KaibaCorp!"

"Change of plans. Marik says to come back home; dinner's 'bout ready. If you'd like, I could just drop you in snowdrift and leave you to freeze," he offered. "Or you could just quit your _bitching_ and come with me."

Yugi wished Atem would answer his mental calls for help, but the yami remained silent. Yugi was on his own, deserted in the snowy city to be looked after by a blonde Egyptian psychopath. "D-does he know you have me with you…?"

"Does that matter?"

"I…just…should be getting home, is all…"

"_Relax_," Malik snorted. "Gods, you're so fucking tentative. Have a little spine for once. Besides, it's just Marik and Bakura and his hikari—they're pretty harmless."

"Harmless… Right…"

Malik kept taking back routes that Yugi was unfamiliar with. It made him nervous. This was a large city, after all, and there were all sorts of weirdos in the back alleys that the yami was taking. Not that anyone would mess with someone as large and scary as Malik, but Yugi was still anxious by nature in these situations. Even being cradled by a strangely careful Yami Marik wasn't enough to settle his nerves. So when a group of creepers in hoodies approached them, Yugi was prepared to wet his Marshmallon boxers. Yami Marik, however, wasn't as intimidated, and he moved to go around them even as they came closer, ignoring the grungy youths until he was forced to pay them mind when one of them pulled out a knife from his sleeve.

"Give us your money!" he demanded. "Or we'll slit your fucking throat!"

Malik's eyebrows tilted inwards just enough for Yugi to take notice, and the hikari buried his face as deep into the blonde's neck as he could manage. He hid in the yami's spiky blonde hair, whining and shivering quietly. This got a rise out of Yami Marik, whose warm chest vibrated as he released a low growl in warning while being circled by the nine goons. "Get out of my way," Malik's eyes widened crazily, "or I'll break your body in two."

"Like _shit_ we will!" The aggressor waved his knife, setting it aglow with the overhead street-lights. He snickered menacingly, sending his posse into similar fits. "Give us your cash, you blonde _freak_. Don't make me cut your little _brother_ open."

Yugi whimpered a little louder, making Malik's eyes slide towards him. Why was the hikari so nervous? He should feel secure. Malik was big and kickass, so certainly Yugi didn't think they were in any real danger. Did he?

Feeling a little offended by the boy's lack of confidence, Malik's lilac eyes darted back towards whom he assumed was the leader of the hooded group. "He's _not_ my brother," the yami corrected grittily. "But I _am_ responsible for the little thing at the moment. That being the case, I'm prepared to protect him."

Yugi squeezed Malik's neck tighter, whispering into his hair. "…Malik… You don't…have to protect me…"

"Ha! Big words coming from just one guy! You're outnumbered!" He laughed again as his co-members pulled their weapons out. Malik could hear a chain to his left, and a gun cocked at his right. "Now give us your cash! I _won't_ say it again!" There were at least five boys with knives.

"How pathetic humans are…" The yami flashed his white teeth at the group while allowing his dark senses to stretch further. The boys' heart-rates were going crazy; nervous humans were easy pickings. Without his Rod to amplify them, Yami Marik lacked most of his Shadow powers, but he had plenty to do damage to these fools. Mortals with knives weren't exactly intimidating to begin with, and he didn't need magic to tear them apart. "If you want money so badly, come and take it from me, spineless fucker," Malik dared.

"You asked for it! –_Get_ 'im!"

Yugi whimpered but Malik just smirked as one of the hooded figures moved to attack him from behind. "Hold on, you little koala," he whispered before doing a turn-around kick at full swing. It was enough to send the gagster crashing into the wall, and he had enough motion to swirl around and slam his boot into the leg of another, snapping the man's shin in half. The goon shrieked and collapsed, hugging his leg. The rest of the group backed away, gawking at the bone ejecting from the other's leg and second guessing their plan of attack as Malik turned to glare at them. "Care to try that again? …Well? I'm _waiting_! I'll cave in the face of whoever's next!" He cackled wildly and the group started to back off. "What's the matter, boys? All talk? That really _pisses_ me off."

"Shit! He's fucking insane!"

"Let's get out of here!"

"_Come on_!" Yami Marik howled as they fled and threw their weapons into the red snow, abandoning their injured friends. "I didn't even get to use my other leg!" He snorted and turned to glower at the two leftover men with his narrowed eyes. "I'm going to consume your souls and let you rot in _hell_ for trying to jump me so cheaply like that..."

"Malik… No…"

"Huh?" He blinked, coming out of his angry fog when Yugi moved against him. He'd nearly forgotten he was holding the hikari at all.

"Don't kill them. It won't make you any better."

He sighed irritably but turned to look away from the temptations on the floor. "You ruin my fun, just like Ryou and Marik… But fine. _Whatever_." Yami Marik adjusted his little load and began to walk in the direction he'd been going before they'd been interrupted. Yugi wasn't sure how the yami had such a keen sense of direction. Malik acted like he knew exactly where he was going. "Next time, their souls are _mine_. I don't tolerate that shit without proper punishment."

"Killing people and taking souls shouldn't solve your problems," the small boy spoke softly, quivering from a mix of the cold and the attack.

"Maybe not," Malik snickered, "but it sure as hell makes me feel better when I've had a shitty day."

_-(Next Scene)-_

Yugi was feeling relieved as he was carried up the stairs to the door of the apartment where the four crazies stayed together; maybe Malik would let him down. …But he didn't. Rather than put the hikari down so he could open the door, the yami just gave a couple swift kicks to the door and yelled, "Hey, _assholes_! Let me in!"

Yugi's expression wilted with embarrassment at his kidnapper's loud and blunt demands, prepared to scold Malik for yelling this late in the evening, when the door opened. "Shut up, you dick," Bakura growled.

He was wearing his typical blue and white shirt and grey skinny-jeans, but his white hair was pulled back into a messy bun-ponytail with a chopstick ejecting from where the hair was knotted up and met his head. He also wore a scowl and Yugi whimpered, surprised when he found himself snuggling closer to Malik for…comfort? Nothing about this evening was going right at all! Atem still wasn't answering his 'calls', and that meant he was still asleep—or that he'd cut Yugi off their transmissions for a purpose.

Yugi whined louder and Bakura pursed his lips as he examined the situation.

After several tense seconds, the Yami finally gave up guessing. "What the fuck is the _mini-pharaoh_ doing here?" he demanded, hands on his bony hips.

Yugi noted that the albino had a spoon in his right hand. So they were cooking? Come to mention it, the air coming from the apartment smelled especially yummy. Trying not to move so he could sniff at the air was challenging, but the teenager managed it somehow. "_Mmm_," Yugi purred. Yami Marik and Yami Bakura's eyes both immediately fell down at the cute, mewling little noises the hikari was making. Their faces flashed pink as Yugi smiled, staring past Bakura into the apartment. "That smells _amazing_," he cooed.

"It's stir fry with fried rice, eggrolls, and bean-paste rolls," Bakura murmured, still staring straight at the wide-eyed hikari. "But there isn't enough for five people."

Yugi frowned. "Oh. Well, I don't want to be a bother," he immediately recovered, squirming in Yami Marik's arms. "I should be getting home anyways. I'm sure Atem is worried si—_AH_!"

Malik pushed right past Bakura, carrying the whining Yugi into the apartment and making the other Yami growl. "There's plenty of food," the blonde insisted. He only dropped Yugi when they entered the kitchen. Malik put the smaller teenager down and closed the door, blocking the three hikari inside and leaving him to deal with the other maniac, who was shrilling in the living room about Malik's unwanted guest.

Yugi blinked at Marik and Ryou, both of whom looked just as surprised to see him there as he felt to have been carried by Yami Marik. "Um… Hey, guys," he smiled, rubbing at the base of his neck when he felt his face flush pink from their gawking. "So I guess I am here for dinner tonight."

It must be in the rulebook somewhere for hikaries that they look adorable all the time. Ryou was wearing the same clothing as Bakura, and that was normal, but Yugi had never seen him wear the frilly pink apron before. He'd also never seen Ryou with his hair in a ponytail, and the shaggy white locks make him turn almost as pink as Ryou's rather fabulous apron.

Marik wasn't any better. He had on that ridiculous lilac top that teased everyone; it seemed that even in 20-degree-weather he felt the need to show off his toned stomach. His hair was also pulled back, and he wore a purple apron. At least it wasn't frilly. Yugi was certain he couldn't have handled seeing Marik in frills without having to make a quick visit to the bathroom.

"Yugi?" Ryou's face was more concerned than happy to see the third hikari in the apartment. "How did you…? I mean…?"

"Malik brought me."

Both of their eyes widened and the two hikari exchanged worried glances before Marik put his wooden spoon down and approached Yugi. "My yami brought you?"

"We both got left behind at the store," Yugi explained. He sighed. "He was going to take me to KaibaCorp, because we were sure that's where everyone else was headed, but Atem isn't answering me. I think he's asleep."

"So my yami just brought you here instead?"

"Well, I didn't have much say in it, but that's basically what happened."

Ryou turned to pay attention to the rice, making sure the food didn't burn as they chatted. "Strange, but he's done stranger," the white-haired boy giggled. "I suppose one more at the dinner table won't hurt any. We make plenty. Malik is such a little piggy!"

"I don't want to be a problem…" Yugi's purple eyes fell to the floor and he rubbed at the tiles with his tennis-shoe.

"You're no problem," Marik assured, patting Yugi on the head as reassurance. "I'm just sorry you had to go through whatever you went through to get here. My yami can be pretty…er….well…I mean…you were there that time. And now you're stuck with him and Bakura tonight."

"He wasn't so bad," Yugi replied quietly, still staring at the floor as he thought back to his 'ride over'. Malik hadn't been especially mean. In fact, he was pretty gentle during that time. Was it possible that the yami was capable of being gentle at all? "And Bakura and I seem to get along all right enough. You know, when he isn't trying to kill Atem," he giggled.

Marik laughed. "Yeah, true. Well, you're welcome to stay for as long as you'd like, Yugi." He smiled before returning to the stir-fry. "We're just about finished."

"Will you be staying the night, Yugi?" Ryou wondered aloud.

"I…don't know. I mean… Unless I get a ride home or Atem wakes up, or…whatever…I guess I can't go anywhere."

"We don't drive," Marik shrugged, "and it's too cold to ride at the moment, so it looks like a sleepover it is! But don't worry, Yugi. We'll make sure my yami and Bakura don't bother you, okay?"

"Thanks, Marik."

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I will post chapter two either tonight or tomorrow. It's almost at a stopping point. All I can say is…poor Yugi.


	2. Dinner with the Crazies

Here's the next chapter!

I'm not sure why I like to tease poor Malik and Yugi the way I do n_n; but it's probably just because how fun it is. That, and my roommate encourages them as a pairing LOL.

Not sure what will happen with this story, really, since it's total bs start toe end. I don't have a specific plot in mind just yet, but my stories tend to write themselves, so I won't force anything. I'll just let the characters work it out themselves.

(Btw, I'm posting this during my lunch hour, so I will go back and edit any typos later this evening after work!)

As always, I'm very grateful for any comments/reviews c:!

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**Chapter 2:**** Dinner with the Crazies**

Yugi never imagined that living in this house was the way it seemed to be. The four all seemed to get along pretty well, and Yugi was amazed at how normal their interactions were. Yami Bakura and Yami Marik fought and teased one another in a way that reminded him of Duke and Tristan, and Marik and Ryou just quietly talked and corrected their yamies when necessary in a way that reminded him of himself with Atem. The four discussed their days and, if it weren't for Malik's occasional homicidal-maniac comment, it would be almost exactly like dinner with Atem and the rest.

The main thing he couldn't figure out was who was with whom. Marik and Ryou seemed to flirt at moments, and he was pretty sure the yamies were involved in some way, but they also seemed to be especially aware and attentive of their hikaries. It was possible that the four were all involved with one another in a sort of strange four-way-relationship, but Yugi chose not to think about it that hard.

Watching the four interact this closely was never something he'd been able to do before. It was fascinating—and entertaining.

"The food's perfect," Yugi smiled when Malik spooned more steamed vegetables and rice onto his plate upon noticing it was empty. What was up with Yami Marik suddenly being well-mannered? It made the hikari nervous, and he nodded an anxious thank-you at the yami, who just grunted and went back to stuffing his own face with his third serving of fried rice.

"Thank you, Yugi," Ryou giggled.

Marik watched his yami carefully throughout dinner. He couldn't figure out what was going on, either. It was rare that his yami was considerate of anyone at all besides the two of them (he even ignored Bakura half the time), so what was up with his bringing Yugi without breaking his limbs or something in the process? It was unusual for Malik to take an interest in anyone. Marik watched his yami eye Yugi when the hikari wasn't paying attention. Marik wasn't sure if it was a safe or healthy fixation, but it was a mystery he intended to solve, if nothing else but to satisfy his own curiosity.

Marik couldn't help but feeling at least a little jealous. He shared his yami with Ryou and Bakura on occasion, but for the most part Marik had Malik to himself. The thought of Malik being so interested in someone else, especially Atem's mini-me, made him turn a little green. Yugi was his friend, but Malik was _his_ yami, and he'd always pick his darker half over his tiny peer.

"Another eggroll?" Ryou offered the plate to Yugi.

"Oh! Thanks!" Yugi moved to reach across the table (both their arms were too short to fully reach the other), but Bakura took one and handed it to the hikari, not even looking at him in the process. "…Thank you."

"Whatever."

"You need to eat more," Malik frowned.

Yugi blinked up at the blonde, sinking into his chair when they made eye contact. "Huh?"

Malik was staring down at him with a pair of flat and unamused eyes. "You're so skinny," he commented.

"Uh…"

"You're not as bad as the _albinos_, though," Malik admitted.

Bakura scowled. "_Fuck_ you, Malik."

"Now, now," Ryou scolded. "You two behave yourselves in front of the guest."

The yamies both went back to eating. It was surprising to see how much control Ryou wielded. There was a time Yugi remembered back on when Ryou was helpless and abused, but now he was the one that usually controlled the situation and was most often babied and cared for.

Oh, the irony.

"So," Bakura interrupted Yugi's drifting thoughts and causing him to glance towards the yami, "no word from the ass?"

It was probably a bad thing that he didn't have to ask whom Bakura was referring to. "Nope." Yugi sighed and shook his head. "I suppose he's asleep, after all."

"I bet he is."

Bakura had always been an observant creature, and it hadn't taken much to figure out that something was going on with the Game Kings. Both of them were acting strangely, and it seemed blatantly obvious to him about what was going on. He kept the information to himself, mostly because he saw no reason in sharing or discussing it.

"That settles it," Ryou smiled while passing Marik the bowl of rice. "Yugi will be sleeping here tonight."

Bakura growled, eyeing his other half. "You're not _serious_. He doesn't belong here!"

The hikari's eyes flattened and everyone at the table tensed a little. "_Hush_. Yugi is our friend, and he will stay here because he needs a place to sleep. I won't allow him go without a warm bed and a pillow."

Bakura snarled, turning to glare at Yugi with his grey-violet, boring eyes. "He's not _my_ friend," the yami corrected.

Malik's hair bristled. "Watch it," he warned, his nose wrinkling.

Bakura snickered with some level of amusement at how the blonde was becoming so defensive so easily. "Or you'll _what_?"

"I'll rip off your arm and use it like a spoon, that's what."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Does it have to?"

"Gods! You're stranger tonight than usual! What's _up_ with you?"

"I shouldn't have to explain myself. Leave the panda alone, Bakura, or I'll kill you myself."

"_Hah_! You can't kill me!"

"I already did it once," Malik snarled toothily.

Bakura's grey-violet eyes tightened. "Bastard…"

The blonde made a teasing expression and stuck out his abnormally-long tongue. "_Old hag_."

The thief's eyes tightened at Malik's unwanted nickname. The other yami loved pointing out that Bakura had long, silvery-white hair and pale skin and was ancient, so apparently that made him an old woman. "You don't have your bloody Rod anymore, remember?" Bakura reminded bitterly, and that was enough to make the other yami growl. "Now you're just a spiky-haired monkey with a hard left swing."

"You don't have your Ring, either," Malik hissed back. "One punch to the side of your head and you'll be in a coma so deep, not even Atem could bring you out of it!"

Yugi just sat wide-eyed at the table, unsure what was happening or how to respond to the conversation.

"Besides," Malik sat back and crossed his long arms, "you're just jealous because my panda's cuter than your kitten."

"That _does_ it!" Bakura stood, preparing to stab the blonde yami, but his attack was quickly stifled by Ryou's hands on his arm.

"Bakura! Malik!" Ryou jerked at his yami to make him sit. "Stop it! Both of you behave! Goodness! You're such _children_ sometimes!"

"…Why am I am _panda_?" Yugi murmured up at Malik, but the blonde didn't respond.

Yugi was too preoccupied with being confused about his new nickname to notice Marik was glowering at him from the other side of the table.

Dinner was turning into a fiasco, but that wasn't untypical. Malik and Bakura had a somewhat violent relationship, and if they weren't making out in the corner, they were probably trying to kill each other.

Just another friendly dinner at the apartment.

By the time dinner was finished, Yami Bakura had tried to shank Yami Marik about six times, and Ryou had to make them stop arguing another ten. It was a good thing Ryou was there to act as the medium to stop the fights or Yugi was sure the other three wouldn't last one night together.

All through dinner, Marik had remained fairly quiet.

Eager to feel useful, Yugi leapt to help them clear the table, but he found himself on the other side of Bakura's palm. "Don't bother," the pale yami mumbled, helping Malik grab the dishes. "Our deal is that the hikaries cook and the yamies do the dishes. You're a hikari, so that means you get off easy."

"But…I want to help."

"Well, _tough shit_," Bakura sniggered before grabbing the glass Yugi held so he could march back to the kitchen.

Yugi sighed. Feeling especially defeated and useless, the spiky-haired Game King meandered back towards the Living Room so he could flop onto their black couch. He didn't like feeling like a mooch, but the four weren't making it easy.

He tried calling his yami again, but again faced black-silence. Atem was apparently too busy to talk to him.

Atem might still be a little angry.

After Atem had returned from the Spirit Realm, the relationship between the Game Kings wasn't the same as before. Back in the day when Yugi believed Yami to be nothing more than an ancient spirit that resembled him, they were very involved. But now that he knew the truth—that is that they were in fact two halves of the same soul that was split when Atem sealed Zorc but were now developed enough to exist as separate entities—Yugi wasn't comfortable with continuing their previous relationship. It was too strange, and he'd decided to call off the relationship, which of course caused his yami a great deal of distress and frustration.

Atem claimed to come back because he couldn't stand not having Yugi around. Even surrounded by all his old friends and being in heaven didn't seem to amount to anything if he couldn't have his snuggable mini-me, so Atem had returned. He'd said he'd brought back Bakura and Malik because he wanted Ryou and Marik to share a similar relationship with their own yamies.

The pharaoh was still pretty upset over it. Yugi felt bad, but until the whole _weirdness_ factor was dealt with, he just couldn't be with his yami like they were before. They were still very close, and they each still depended on the other for so much, but Yugi had grown in the year since Atem's passing on and was more independent nowadays. Yami hadn't been expecting to come back to such an adult Yugi, and the two were still working on figuring out what their new relationship would be like.

He was probably refusing to talk to Yugi because of this very reason. Atem was stubborn and selfish, and until Yugi gave him what he wanted, he'd probably act like a child. Ignoring Yugi and leaving him like he had done at the store was probably just Atem's way of saying: "You said you can do things on your own now, so screw you."

Stupid Atem… He could be such a child sometimes. That hadn't changed at all. It appeared though Yugi had evolved in their year apart that Atem hadn't,

Not. At. All.

_-Stupid Yami… Why is he always like this?-_

Yugi released a short yelp into a pillow he'd pulled against his face to muffle the noise. It smelled like lilac and reminded him of where he was. There were bigger things to worry about tonight than Atem's drama: he was sleeping over at one of the most dangerous apartments in existence! After all, it wasn't longer than a year or two ago that Bakura and Malik had nearly destroyed the planet.

Bakura wasn't possessed by Zorc anymore, and that was at least a little comfort. He was more like the Thief King from Atem's memories now, and the most they had to worry about was Bakura's remnant vendetta against Atem. He knew now that it wasn't directly Atem's fault for what happened to his village in Kul'elna, but he still hated Atem's guts and would probably kill the other yami if he got the chance and it didn't mean his own demise.

But Yami Marik…well…he didn't really change at all. The biggest difference between him now and back then was that he was bigger now. He used to share Marik's body, so he didn't change size when he went all apeshit. But now he had his own flesh, and apparently that meant he had to be as massive on the outside as his personality made him out to be those years ago.

At 6'4", he towered over everyone in the group. As if that wasn't enough, he was still as insane and unstable as before, only now he didn't have his Millennium Rod, so his Shadow powers were mostly worthless, making him a huge beat-stick without the whole Shadow Realm ace. He was still scary as hell though, and not even Kaiba really messed with him. Of course, that might have to do with the time that Yami Marik snapped the CEO's left shin like it was a twig when he got especially irritated one evening. Kaiba would never again comment on the Egyptian's change is size, and the next time Malik told him to 'get on his knees', there was a good chance Kaiba would suck up his pride and just do as he was told or risk both legs getting snapped (as Malik had warned he'd do 'the next time Kaiba got prissy').

It was a good thing that Marik somehow controlled his yami, or everyone would be in trouble. Unlike Bakura, Yami Marik didn't care if he died, so the whole 'killing Atem will kill you' threat really didn't do much.

Bakura had also grown now that he had a new body. He was finally taller than Marik now, and was actually eye-level with Tristan. At 5'10" he was happier than before but still not tall enough to make valid threats at people like Seto Kaiba.

Neither Bakura nor Malik had their Millennium Items anymore. The items had been destroyed when Atem had gone to the afterlife, but when he'd returned, the items had as well. Atem, being the only one around, had hidden the rest of the items in a secret place. Bakura and Malik were reduced to mortals with bad attitudes and a mind-link to their other halves. Until they got their Millennium Ring and Rod back, they were helpless when compared to Yami Yugi, who still had his Millennium Puzzle.

The only other person that knew where the other six golden items were was Yugi, because Atem told him pretty much everything he asked. This didn't make it past either yami, and both of them were working to come up with ways of worming the information from the pint-sized Game King in the Living Room. Both were warned by Ryou to behave and not to torment their guest, but Yugi was alone. Isolated from the rest of the Happy Herd, he was almost completely helpless. He might have grown emotionally and psychologically over the last year, and may be more independent than before, but either of the yamies could break his neck just as easily as they could have before, and without Atem there to protect him, Yugi was nothing short of a lamb ready to be sheared.

Ryou couldn't protect him forever.

The only question now was which yami would get the information first.

"You look upset about something."

Yugi poked his eyes around the pillow he still clenched to so he could look up at a gently smiling Ryou. The other hikari was out of that frilly apron at least, but he still looked adorable. "It's Atem," Yugi sighed. He sat up and moved to allow the white-haired boy to sit beside him on the couch.

Ryou kept that gentle smile, nodding to let him know he was listening. "I assumed as much. You've both been somewhat distant from one another ever since he got back. Is it because of what we learned?"

Yugi nodded. "It's just too weird, is all," he breathed, staring at the floor again and hugging the couch pillow to his small frame. "I mean, I love Yami, but…I don't think I could be with him like before. Not now, anyways. But he's still my friend, and I wish he'd understand how I felt. He's so selfish sometimes…"

"He can be a bit of a jerk sometimes," Ryou giggled, making Yugi smile a little. "But I think it'll all work out. He's dating, at least."

"He does it just to make me jealous, I think."

"Does it work?"

"A little, I guess… But I'd rather be friends now, so…not as much as he'd _like_ it to."

"Well, maybe _you_ should date, too," Ryou suggested.

Yugi hugged the pillow closer. Date? _Him_? He'd never really been very dateable. Even now he was too shy to ask any girl out. The only people he'd liked in the past were his yami and Tea, but she loved Atem, not him. Yugi was still hoping that his growth spurt would come soon and he'd be as fit and as slender as his yami, but he wasn't sure that would happen at all. Thinking about being stuck this small for forever was dizzying, though, so Yugi pretended like a growth spurt was due any day now to make himself feel better. "I don't think so," the teenager mumbled into the pillow.

"Aw. Well, why not?"

"I don't really _like_ anybody."

"What about Joey?"

Yugi flashed red. "He's seeing—"

"Oh… _Mai_," Ryou frowned. "Right… I forgot about her. …She's in Europe now, right?"

Yugi nodded. "They date long-distance since she's always on the move."

"I don't see how they work it out, but I suppose if they're happy, that's all that matters."

"Yup," the Game King sighed.

"I'm not helping very much, am I?" Ryou laughed nervously. "Well, cheer up, Yugi. I'm sure you will find someone."

"You have Bakura, I guess," Yugi commented.

Ryou flashed red and laughed, waving his hands in the air. "Well…_sort_ of… I…suppose… I mean…"

"Oh… Sorry… I just…_assumed_…"

Ryou smiled and looked away, staring at nothing particular as he allowed his mind to drift. "Bakura and I have a strange relationship. He feels guilt for what he did to me before under the influence of that Zorc fellow, so he's trying especially hard to make up for it now by being nice to me and protecting me and all that good stuff. I've forgiven him for what happened, but…we're not quite…_involved_… Not just yet. I adore him, though. Oh goodness, how I adore him. He's so marvelous and takes such good care of me, but I believe he has a deeper connection to Marik than to me. Perhaps someday… But, at the moment, we're just friends. Very good friends. It's certainly better than before, though! No more waking up starving or injured or dirty for me!"

Yugi smiled, glad he hadn't made a massive faux-pas by bringing it up. "That's definitely an improvement. You two just get along so well. I figured you'd have hooked up by now. It's almost been a year since they all came back."

"Yes. But Bakura's guilt doesn't allow him to bring himself too close to me, I don't think." Ryou was still smiling, but Yugi could sense the weight in his voice. He wanted so badly for Bakura to allow himself to open up, but the Thief King was an emotionally distant and untrusting person by nature, and taming him would take longer than ten months to do.

"What about Marik and Malik?" Yugi had to know. The chance to ask had shown itself and he was taking it. "Are they involved? I can't really tell what their relationship is like."

"Well, sort of. They're little whores, I think," Ryou giggled. "Bakura and Marik are involved, but I think they they're both involved with Marik's yami, too. Yami Marik is a bit of a free spirit though, far more so than my own yami. I don't think he can belong to just anyone, but I know Marik cares a great deal for him.

"Even though Malik caused Marik a lot of trouble, and murdered their father, I think Marik knows that Malik is his responsibility. After all, he's not like Atem or Bakura. Yami Marik was born of Marik's pain and anger and spite. He's not wholly responsible for his past actions because he was insane, but now he has more mental stability. From what I understand, Atem gave Malik a conscience, so now he can be held at least a little responsible for his actions, but Marik is still responsible for Malik's creation and that makes him at least a bit accountable for his yami's past and present actions, so he keeps a close eye on Malik. And Malik is very protective of Marik. Now that he can actually think, he's changed from viewing Marik as the 'weaker half' to just his 'other half'."

"So they're sort of like how Atem and I are," Yugi thought aloud.

"Something like that. It's all pretty confusing to me," Ryou laughed. "I've thought a good deal about it, myself, but it's really anyone's guess. Think about it too hard and you'll give yourself a headache, haha! We're all such strange creatures!"

So it was starting to sound like Bakura and Marik were a pair with the occasional whore-time with the insane blonde yami, while Ryou yearned for Bakura but got the cold shoulder.

And Yugi thought _his_ relationship problems were bad…

Poor Ryou. He deserved someone too. It didn't seem fair at all.

"Sounds complicated," Yugi smiled, making the other hikari laugh.

"Yes. Yes, it is rather complex, I suppose. It's a pickle! But I don't mind. I love all three of my insane roommates! They sure make life entertaining!"

"Yeah. It doesn't look like you'd ever get bored!"

"Nope! Not _ever_!"

The hikaries laughed, not noticing Malik walk into the room. The giant leaned over the back of the couch, lowering his spiky head between them. "What's so funny?"

Yugi screamed and fell off the couch in surprise. Ryou screamed too but he just slapped the yami's shoulder and scolded him. "Don't _scare_ us like that!"

"What did _I_ do?" Malik leaned over a little further to tilt his head down at Yugi, whom was in an uncomfortable position, tangled between the couch and coffee table. "What a little spazz," he snickered before reaching down to pick the hikari up by his arm with a single hand. Yugi yelped and squirmed. "Chill," Malik grunted, "or you'll pop your arm out of socket." He dropped the now still, but whimpering, Game King on the couch where he'd been sitting before, and Ryou just gave him a brown glare. "…_What_?"

"We're still teaching him proper manners," Ryou apologized once he'd made sure his guest wasn't injured.

Yugi rotated his arm to make sure nothing was out of place. "It's all right. He was just trying to be helpful." He looked up and beamed a shy smile at the blonde yami, causing Malik to freeze in place. "Thank you."

"…You're…welcome….?"

Ryou glanced between the two, arching a pale eyebrow at the strange moment. Before he could come to any decision about the interaction, Bakura and Marik had entered the room.

"Malik, what are you doing?" Marik's hands perched upon his small hips and he gave his yami a studying glare.

"Nothing! I swear! _Gods_, I can't do anything around here without people being suspicious!"

"I heard yelling," Marik frowned. "What did you do?"

"I can't help it if these two are pussies!"

Bakura snickered, coming around the couch to sit between Ryou and Yugi. He glanced at his hikari, who just smiled in that timid way he always did, looking cute and pink. "He scare you?"

Ryou shook his head. "It was nothing, really. He didn't mean to. Just caught us off-guard is all."

He turned to glance at Yugi, who took a second to stare at the strange color of Bakura's new eyes. He wasn't used to seeing Bakura without Ryou's dark brown irises. The grey-violet made him a bit less intimidating. Bakura frowned upon noticing how fixated Yugi was getting on his face. "_What_?" he snarled.

"Ope! Nothing! _Sorry_!"

Bakura grunted and sank in the couch, yawning groggily. He'd had a long day of being Kaiba's bitch at work and he was feeling the need for a hot shower to loosen his muscles and stress.

The yami had been hired for his knowledge of thievery and now worked as a Security Officer at KaibaCorp five days a week. He helped Mokuba set up a stronger security system and was now training the dumbass guards how to not be epic fail with security. Since he'd started working there, KaibaCorp had managed to avoid more than 50% of its past security violations, and the number was only rising. If the brunette CEO had a good side, Bakura was certainly on it, and the Thief King was paid well enough that he could support himself and his hikari without any difficulty. Ryou worked anyways, because he liked staying busy. He was taking classes at a local college and worked as a part-time baker and florist in his spare time.

Marik was working on getting his GED and planned on taking entrance exams for college so he could attend classes with Ryou. In the meantime, he studied with his sister and worked at the museum with her as a guide.

Malik, of course, didn't work and refused to go to school. The majority of his days was spent either following Marik or Bakura around, or sitting at the house watching Soap Operas, Discovery Health, and Spike TV while trying to hold in the urge from raping the neighbor's cat again.

"_Someone_ looks pooped," Ryou commented gently.

Bakura grunted and rubbed at one of his eyes. "Yeah, well, blame the brunette _nazi_ with the dragon fetish. Kaiba runs me hard." Malik snickered and the white-haired yami shot him a daring glance. "Shut the hell up."

"You guys are cute when you fight," Yami Marik chuckled. He leaned against the back of the couch, perching his arms and resting his head in them. "I think you should date, personally. The sexual tension is—"

"_Thank you_, Malik!" Bakura snarled, slapping at the other to make Malik remove himself from the couch's spine. "Now shut the hell up! No one wants to hear your stupid opinions about my sex life!"

"I bet _Yugi_ does," the blonde smirked, causing Yugi's face to flush red. "Look at him. He's so curious about it that you might just _kill_ him unless you talk about it."

Confused by how he was suddenly brought into the conversation, Yugi blinked and pointed at himself while the other teenagers eyed him. "Who? _Me_? I… Um…. I mean… …What?"

Malik laughed, ignoring Marik when the smaller teen slapped at his arm. "That _face_! Oh gods! It's so _priceless_!" the yami burst. Yugi just kept staring wide-eyed and confused. "Has anyone told you that you're fucking adorable?"

Everyone's eyes shot towards Malik in shock.

Yugi just turned a shade redder while the other three gawked at the blonde.

"_Allllll riiiiight_…" Bakura stood, giving Ryou a pat on the head before he walked out of the Living Room and made his way towards the hall where Yugi presumed the white-haired thief stayed. "On _that_ note, I'm off. No one turn the water on – I'm grabbing a shower."

"I need to get ready for bed soon too," Marik sighed. "I have to be at the museum early tomorrow."

"All right, then." Ryou giggled when Malik hugged his neck from behind, giving the other hikari a squeeze and wishing him good night before wandering back down the same hall Bakura had vanished into. "And you, Yugi?"

"Huh?"

"When do you need to go to sleep?"

"Oh." Still recovering from the confusion of the previous conversation, Yugi tried to recollect his thoughts and focus on his plans for the following day. It was going to be Sunday, so… "I don't have anything specific in mind yet," he replied quietly. "So…I guess whenever you guys go to sleep, I will too."

"I go to bed around nine-thirty. Is that too early?"

Yugi shook his head.

"Okay," Ryou smiled. "You can stay with me tonight."

What? Stay with Ryou? As in…sleep in his bed?

Yugi turned a shade redder, and Yami Marik tilted his head at the hikari's change in color. "Okay," he nodded sheepishly.

"You can use some of my jammies. They might be a little big on you, though…"

"Let him use one of my shirts," offered Malik. Both the hikaries looked up at him. He was leaning against the couch again, grinning toothily. "He's a shrimp, so they'd be huge on him."

Sleeping in Ryou's bed while wearing Yami Marik's shirt.

What a weird night.

* * *

Poor Yugi x3! I love pairing him with Yami Marik, in pretty much any of the blonde's forms. He's more likeable in Questionable Existence, I think, but he's pretty hilarious so far in this story LOL!

Let me know what you think so far. I'm really uncertain where this story will go, but I d have a plot in mind for the next one or two chapters!


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